# Leandro Bacuna

Leandro Jones Johan Bacuna (born 22 August 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or right-back for Eredivisie club Groningen. Born in the Netherlands and a former Dutch youth international, he represents the Curaçao national team.

## Club career
### Groningen

On 30 October 2009, Bacuna made his first team debut for Groningen in an Eredivisie match against PSV. Bacuna has also played for Groningen's youth teams. On 6 November 2009, he scored his first goal for the first team in a league match against Heracles Almelo, an eventual 4–1 victory for Groningen.

### Aston Villa

It was announced on 13 June 2013 that Bacuna had signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Aston Villa. Handed the number 7 shirt, Bacuna impressed many with his debut season for the Villains, despite constantly playing out of position at right back. Bacuna scored his first Premier League goal on 28 September at home to Manchester City. His second goal came from a free-kick in the claret and blues' 2–0 victory over Cardiff City. He continued his goalscoring run with goals against West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Norwich.
In the 2014–15 season, however, Bacuna found it harder to break into the starting line-up, starting just one game in the Premier League. On 15 February 2015, he scored the first of two Villa goals in the fifth round of the FA Cup in a 2–1 win over Leicester City, taking the club into the quarter-finals.
On 20 August 2015, Bacuna signed a new long-term contract with the club.

### Reading

On 13 August 2017, Bacuna moved to Reading, signing a four-year contract. He scored his first goal for Reading in an EFL Cup tie against Millwall on 22 August 2017.

### Cardiff City

On 31 January 2019, Bacuna moved to Premier League side Cardiff City, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal for a transfer fee believed to be around £3 million. On 10 June 2022, Cardiff announced Bacuna would leave the club when his contract expired on 30 June.

### Watford

On 14 December 2022, Bacuna signed for Championship club Watford on a contract until the end of the 2022–23 season.

## International career

Born in the Netherlands to parents of Afro-Curaçaoan descent, Bacuna played for the Netherlands Antilles under-20 side, as well as various youth Dutch teams. He received his first Curaçao national team call-up in March 2016, earning his first cap in a 1–0 loss to Barbados.

## Personal life

He is the older brother of fellow professional football player Juninho Bacuna.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 8 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Groningen | 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 20 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| Groningen | 2010–11 | Eredivisie | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 2 | 31 | 2 |
| Groningen | 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 33 | 7 |
| Groningen | 2012–13 | Eredivisie | 33 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 38 | 5 |
| Groningen | Total | Total | 109 | 14 | 9 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 2 | 125 | 17 |
| Aston Villa | 2013–14 | Premier League | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 5 |
| Aston Villa | 2014–15 | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 |
| Aston Villa | 2015–16 | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 |
| Aston Villa | 2016–17 | Championship | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 |
| Aston Villa | 2017–18 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Aston Villa | Total | Total | 116 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 8 |
| Reading | 2017–18 | Championship | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 38 | 2 |
| Reading | 2018–19 | Championship | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 3 |
| Reading | Total | Total | 60 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 66 | 5 |
| Cardiff City | 2018–19 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 |
| Cardiff City | 2019–20 | Championship | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 1 |
| Cardiff City | 2020–21 | Championship | 41 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 2 |
| Cardiff City | 2021–22 | Championship | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 |
| Cardiff City | Total | Total | 109 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 114 | 4 |
| Watford | 2022–23 | Championship | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 407 | 29 | 27 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 449 | 35 |
* 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in Eredivisie play-offs
* ↑ Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs

### International

    As of match played 14 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Curaçao | 2016 | 6 | 4 |
| Curaçao | 2017 | 9 | 1 |
| Curaçao | 2018 | 5 | 4 |
| Curaçao | 2019 | 11 | 2 |
| Curaçao | 2021 | 8 | 2 |
| Curaçao | 2022 | 5 | 1 |
| Curaçao | 2023 | 6 | 0 |
| Curaçao | 2024 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 55 | 15 |
    As of match played 9 September 2024. Curaçao score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bacuna goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 7 June 2016 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 4 | U.S. Virgin Islands | 4–0 | 7–0 | 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 2 | 5 October 2016 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 5 | Antigua and Barbuda | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 3 | 11 October 2016 | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico | 6 | Puerto Rico | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 4 | 11 October 2016 | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico | 6 | Puerto Rico | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 5 | 10 October 2017 | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar | 15 | Qatar | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 26 March 2018 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 17 | Bolivia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 10 September 2018 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 18 | Grenada | 4–0 | 10–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification |
| 8 | 10 September 2018 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 18 | Grenada | 7–0 | 10–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification |
| 9 | 12 October 2018 | IMG Academy, Bradenton, United States | 19 | U.S. Virgin Islands | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification |
| 10 | 5 June 2019 | Chang Arena, Buriram, Thailand | 22 | India | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2019 King's Cup |
| 11 | 21 June 2019 | BBVA Stadium, Houston, United States | 25 | Honduras | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 12 | 28 March 2021 | Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala | 33 | Cuba | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 13 | 5 June 2021 | Estadio El Trébol, Guatemala City, Guatemala | 34 | British Virgin Islands | 3–0 | 8–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 14 | 6 June 2022 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | 41 | Honduras | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A |
| 15 | 9 September 2024 | Kirani James Athletic Stadium, St. George's, Grenada | 53 | Saint Martin | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League B |

## Honours

Aston Villa
* FA Cup runner-up: 2014–15
Curaçao
* Caribbean Cup: 2017
* King's Cup: 2019